The North Park Middle School Band, in Pico Rivera, California, is an exemplary model of a band program grounded in the principles of social justice. Three facets guide the program: Social Outreach, Cultural Outreach, and Kids Helping Kids. This qualitative study explores what led the director to create this program, its current structure as well as its historical development, and the impact the program is having on the students involved and the community to which they reach. Between the months of September and December 2012, I spent a total of three weeks with the students, parents, and the director of the North Park Band, Ron Wakefield. In that time, the students were observed during band rehearsals on typical school days. Additionally, I traveled with the band to three separate outreach concerts at the Los Angeles Veterans Healthcare Facility, nursing homes and assisted living centers, as well as the Isaiah House, a homeless shelter for women and children. I observed the students and their interactions with the residents of those facilities, and took detailed observation notes. In addition, a survey was distributed to students in the top two bands, interviews were conducted with current students and a former student, a parent and a former parent, and the director. The North Park Band program structure leads students to develop an unusually high level of responsibility. Students gain an understanding of current issues in society and demonstrate compassion towards other human beings. In many cases, the students discover a sense of life purpose through the program and feel that they have a responsibility to help their community. While a central focus of the program is on humanistic values, it is evident that the students also receive a quality music education.

The purpose of this project is twofold: to contribute to the literature of chamber ensembles comprising mixed wind, string, and percussion instruments by producing arrangements of three piano rags by William Bolcom; and to highlight Bolcom's pivotal role in the ragtime revival of the 1960's and 1970's. Through his influence as a scholar, composer, and performer, Bolcom (b. 1938), one of the most prominent American composers of his generation, helped garner respect for ragtime as art music and as one of America's great popular music genres. Bolcom's 3 Ghost Rags were written in the tradition of classic piano rags, but with a compositional sensibility that is influenced by the fifty years that separate them from the close of the original ragtime era. The basis for the present orchestrations of 3 Ghost Rags is the collection of instrumental arrangements of piano rags published by Stark Publishing Co., entitled Standard High-Class Rags. More familiarly known as the "Red Back Book," this publication was representative of the exchange of repertoire between piano and ensembles and served as a repertory for the various ragtime revivals that occurred later in the twentieth century. In creating these orchestrations of Bolcom's piano rags, the author strove to provide another medium in which Bolcom's music could be performed, while orchestrating the music for an historically appropriate ensemble.

Convergences, one of the best known orchestral pieces by Marlos Nobre, was originally written in 1968 and scored for winds, percussion and piano; however, that version was neither performed nor published. Upon contacting the composer, the author learned that there was no performance-ready edition available. The purpose of this project, therefore, was to create a performance edition of Convergences Op. 28a by Marlos Nobre; to lead the premiere performance of the original version of the work; and to provide potential future performers with a descriptive analysis of the work, along with biographical information about the composer. After receiving revisions from the composer, the author created a new score, using a music notation program; the score appears at the end of this document. Additionally, performance parts were extracted from the new score. The analytical portion of this paper discusses the structure of the three movements (Vivo, Adagio, Vivo), their interrelationships, and the organic use of motivic transformation that binds the movements together. The work is approximately twenty-one minutes long and is scored for a small wind ensemble comprising: flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, six percussionists, and piano.

This research paper examines the close relationships between the visual arts and music and the implications of curatorial practice upon the work of conductors. While some conductors consider suitability the prime (or only) factor in determining which music to perform, curators use many more criteria. Five elements of exhibition design are particularly germane to musicians including setting, subject matter, visual weight, compositional direction, and narrative. Each of these five elements is discussed in terms of its impact on concert design with a goal of providing additional criteria to the conductor when planning concerts. Three concert experiences, designed with these principles in mind, are presented as examples. Upon consideration of the elements of exhibition design separately and corporately, one arrives at a new appreciation of the concert as a unified experience--capable of being much more than the sum of its parts. The aim of effective concert design is to eliminate unintentional communication--to present music in the most complimentary manner possible. To this end, this study has implications for conductors at all levels.

The combination of soprano, trumpet, strings and continuo was used with much frequency by Baroque composers in their cantatas, oratorios and operas of the time, giving the trumpet a very important place as a solo instrument from 1600 to 1750. The discovery of two pieces by Neapolitan Baroque composers Domenico Sarro (1679-1744) and Gennaro Manna (1715-1779) enlarges the already important body of known works for this instrumentation. Presenting them in performance editions is a valuable contribution to this repertory. Making performance editions available to performers is always an important and exciting task, especially if they exhibit features that have rarely been seen in this combination of instruments and voices. This is specifically the case with Manna's Tuba Sonora Exclama, which shows many interesting features of the Early Classical style. Both works were discovered by the author in a digital archive sponsored by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture for the Italian Government. The original copies of these works are held at two Neapolitan libraries: Biblioteca Statale Oratoriana del Monumento Nazionale del Girolamini (Manna's piece), and Biblioteca del Conservatorio di musica San Pietro a Majella (Sarro's Per abbattere il mio core, from his opera Partenope.) The manuscripts, obtained in digital format, are well preserved and easy to understand. Along with the scores prepared for this document, some historical background about each composer, a discussion of the use of the trumpet as a solo instrument in arias with voice, and descriptions of the pieces are presented. Other important information, such as editorial procedures and critical notes, is also given.

ABSTRACT Many musicians, both amateur and professional alike, are continuously seeking to expand and explore their performance literature and repertory. Introducing new works into the standard repertory is an exciting endeavor for any active musician. Establishing connections, commissioning new works, and collaborating on performances can all work together toward the acceptance and success of a composer's music within an instrument community. For the flute, one such composer is Daniel Dorff (b. 1956). Dorff, a Philadelphia-based composer, has written for symphony orchestra, clarinet, contrabassoon, and others; however, his award-winning works for flute and piccolo are earning him much recognition. He has written works for such illustrious flutists as Mimi Stillman, Walfrid Kujala, and Gary Schocker; his flute works have been recorded by Laurel Zucker, Pamela Youngblood and Lois Bliss Herbine; and his pieces have been performed and premiered at each of the National Flute Association Conventions from 2004 to 2009. Despite this success, little has been written about Dorff's life, compositional style, and contributions to the flute repertory. In order to further promote the flute works of Daniel Dorff, the primary focus of this study is the creation of a compact disc recording of Dorff's most prominent works for flute: April Whirlwind, 9 Walks Down 7th Avenue, both for flute and piano, and Nocturne Caprice for solo flute. In support of this recording, the study also provides biographical information regarding Daniel Dorff, discusses his compositional methods and ideology, and presents background information, description, and performance notes for each piece. Interviews with Daniel Dorff regarding biographical and compositional details serve as the primary source for this document. Suggestions for the performance of the three flute works were gathered through interviews with prominent flutists who have studied and performed Dorff's pieces. Additional performance suggestions for Nocturne Caprice were gathered through a coaching session between the author and the composer. This project is meant to promote the flute works of Daniel Dorff and to help establish their role in the standard flute repertory.